PETA sues two UMass campuses over animal research records

PETA has sued UMass Amherst and UMass Chan Medical School in Massachusetts Superior Court, arguing the public universities improperly withheld records about their animal-research oversight committees. The group seeks committee members’ names and records such as meeting notices, agendas and minutes, saying the information is public under state law and needed to assess who approves experiments and how the panels operate. UMass Chan cited privacy and security exemptions after initially indicating it would release members’ names; at UMass Amherst, PETA says member initials and other material were redacted from records it received. The lawsuits are part of a broader dispute over animal research at the universities, while UMass Chan has said it is committed to animal welfare and regulatory compliance.